The Dipsea Race

Join any conversation among Tamalpa members between January and June, and sooner or later you will hear the word "Dipsea". They're talking about the Dipsea Race, a Tamalpa focal point, a fixation, or, in many cases, an obsession.

The Dipsea Race is to Marin what the Super Bowl is to the United States. It's our premier athletic competition, steeped in nearly a century's worth of racing lore and bragging rights. Today it's the nation's second oldest major footrace, dating from 1905 (only the Boston Marathon is older.) Held each year on the second Sunday in June, the Dipsea is a 7.1 mile point-to-point race from downtown Mill Valley to the sands of Stinson Beach, over a course that ascends (and descends) two major hills with a total elevation gain of 2000 feet. The course is narrow, rutted, and steep. It's often overgrown, and loose rocks, roots, and slippery footing contribute to a significant risk of injury. Of course, those same factors contribute to the challenge and appeal.

There are other unique aspects of the Dipsea Race. For one, the course is "open". This means, in theory, that any route is acceptable as long as an entrant starts at the start and finishes at the finish. In other words, "shortcuts" are legal. In practice, though, the course has been so thoroughly analyzed over its long history that the shortest route is marked and known to all. The main alternatives exist in a few spots where a slightly shorter but steeper and more dangerous trail parallels a slightly longer alternative with better footing. The number of such spots has been sharply reduced in recent years by park service regulations designed to keep runners on a single trail, to minimize erosion and unnecessary human presence in wild areas. As a result, most of the best shortcuts of yesteryear are no longer legal, and most runners follow the same, consensus route.

Another distinguishing Dipsea characteristic is the handicapping system, which dates from the Dipsea's earliest days. Originally, handicaps (headstart minutes) were assigned by the race directors based on their subjective opinions of each entrant's ability. The goal was to make it possible for anyone to win, as long as he (the race was then all male) fully realized his potential with a maximal performance. Beginning in 1965, individual handicaps were replaced by handicaps assigned by age, with the very old and very young getting the biggest headstarts over the "scratch" runners -- those in their 20's to mid-30's, considered the prime running years.

In the 1960's, women occasionally ran the Dipsea, but they were not officially recognized as contestants until 1971. At that time, the handicapping concept was extended to take gender as well as age into account, and two years later the Dipsea had its first female winner, 10 year old Mary Etta Boitano.

Today the Dipsea handicaps are necessary not only to make it possible for excellent runners of any age or sex to have a chance at crossing the finish line first, but also to control crowding. The trail is far too narrow to accommodate the 1500 runners accepted each year if all were to start at once, so a staggered start is vital. Initially, the handicaps were crude and subject to every kind of complaint and accusation of unfairness. Since that time, they have been refined year by year in response to actual Dipsea course records at every age level. The modern Dipsea is run in two heats, "Invitational" and "Runner", with each heat divided into 24 groups starting exactly one minute apart, with the scratch runners always starting last.

Tamalpans have played a major role in the Dipsea ever since the club's inception
late in 1976. Tamalpa won the team title in its first year of Dipsea competition,
1977, and has repeated every single year without exception, right up to the
present. Many Tamalpans have been winners, including Don Pickett (1968), Darryl
Beardall ('74 and '78), Don Chaffee ('79), Donna Andrews ('80), Florianne
Harp ('81), Christie Patterson ('87), Kay Willoughby ('88), Eve Pell ('89),
Shirley Matson ('93, '00, '01 and '04), Russ Kiernan ('98, '02 and '05), and
Melody-Anne Schultz ('99 and '03). Yet for the rank-and-file Tamalpan, the
Dipsea is no less important. Competition is keen not just to win, but to finish
in the Top 35 and receive a coveted numbered "Black Shirt" at the awards ceremony;
to finish in the Top 100 and get your finishing place as your race number
the following year; or to qualify for next year's Invitational section by
finishing in the Top 450 (or beat the equivalent time if in the Runner section.)
For Tamalpans, the Dipsea is the single most popular and talked-about event
of the year, with over 300 club members racing and still more volunteering,
and all reuniting in joyful celebration at the post-race picnic.

Admission to the Dipsea is tight, with about 1000 more applications received
each year than can be accepted. If you're a first-timer, submitting your app
early is crucial. Get on the mailing list by sending a written request no
later than March 1 to : Dipsea Race, P.O. Box 30, Mill Valley, CA 94942. Race
applications are mailed out on March 15. For more information, you may also
call the Dipsea hotline at (415) 331-3550, or log onto the Dipsea web site
at www.dipsea.org. You can also e-mail the race directors at dipseainfo@dipsea.org.

Some Dipsea highlights:

The first Dipsea Race in 1905 came about when a group of hikers called
the Dipsea Indians, an offshoot of San Francisco's Olympic Club, decided
to host an all-comers race over the same course that, a year earlier, had
seen a grudge race between two of its stalwarts, Al Coney and Charlie Boas.
The 1905 race drew 110 entrants, and was won by John Hassard. Hassard also
won the following year.

In 1918-22 a companion event called the "Women's Dipsea Hike" was established,
and it drew more contestants than the men's race. A course record of 1:14
was set by Patricia Swearingen in 1920, which, while not fast by current
standards, is still much faster than a walk. The "hikes" were discontinued
because of pressure from churches concerned about the morality of skimpy
hiking costumes. No woman attempted the course again until 1950.

The race was not held in the Depression years of 1932-33 due to financial
problems, nor during the war years of 1942-45. The interruptions were not
due to lack of interest, however, and each year there were some unofficial
runs.

In 1970, with the running boom underway, the number of entrants topped
1000 for the first time. By 1976, over 2000 ran in a single heat, but the
race was unmanageable and unruly. Today, entrants are limited to 1500, divided
among two heats.

In 1985 the movie "On the Edge" starring Bruce Dern was released to a
nationwide audience. The movie's plot revolved around a fictional race modeled
on the Dipsea, and much of the footage was shot on the Dipsea course using
local runners as extras.

Also in 1985, a masters runner named Sal Vasquez capped a winning streak
of four consecutive years. Vasquez later won in '90, '94, and '97, making
him a seven-time winner. No one else had ever won more than twice until
Shirley Matson won her third Dipsea in 2001. Matson is also the only woman
to have won more than twice.

"What's it gonna take?" "How
hard do I have to train?"

The following table shows the adjusted times (actual minus handicap) for
the eight most critical places and cutoffs for the past twenty-six years.
This period covers the "new" Dipsea course except for 1977. The stats for
that year are missing. To determine what time you would have needed to run
for any of the categories in a given year, simply add your handicap (see handicap
table) to any of the times shown. For example: To win the last Black Shirt
in 1998 with a 10 minute handicap you would have needed to run 64:18 (54:18
+ 10:00). With the same 10 minute handicap it would have required 61:59 in
1997 & 61:25 in 1988. To qualify for the 2005 Invitational Division, runners
in the 2004 Invitational Division had to place in the top 450 finishers and
those in the Runners Division had to place in the top 750. These cutoffs have
changed many times over the years.

Place

Invitational Cutoffs - Inv. place

Invitational Cutoffs - DR place

1st Dipsea Runner

Total

Year

1st

10th

35th

50th

100th

450th

750th

Time

Place

Finishers

1978

42:03

48:58

51:12

52:44

55:10

1:21:08

1:13:51

49:53

446

934

1979

45:40

48:56

52:12

53:28

56:26

1:11:05

1:07:30

44:52

500

1081

1980

44:51

49:32

52:54

54:04

57:15

1:16:50

1:11:57

51:16

472

1159

1981

44:43

48:59

52:40

54:40

57:16

1:12:46

1:10:12

51:52

557

1257

1982

44:53

49:00

53:08

54:41

57:35

1:12:06

1:10:20

52:15

580

1286

1983

45:42

50:08

53:37

55:28

58:40

1:12:10

1:04:55

47:55

556

1270

1984

45:18

51:12

53:41

54:58

58:41

1:10:48

1:05:07

50:03

631

1375

1985

45:56

59:55

53:09

54:31

58:19

1:11:07

1:09:52

50:39

549

1295

1986

44:19

49:53

53:31

55:21

58:48

1:12:57

1:10:21

53:22

553

1245

1987

45:06

49:10

51:32

52:39

55:41

1:08:56

1:06:39

47:21

511

1293

1988

44:40

48:11

51:25

53:13

56:49

1:10:57

1:09:26

54:14

556

1278

1989

44:56

50:28

53:05

54:41

57:42

1:10:04

1:07:38

52:55

583

1269

1990

47:05

50:14

53:13

54:58

58:57

1:11:20

1:10:58

49:23

527

1238

1991

45:32

50:09

52:49

53:33

57:12

1:08:14

1:10:10

52:08

552

1188

1992

42:09

49:00

53:00

54:21

57:51

1:09:13

1:09:56

51:53

555

1251

1993

44:34

50:36

53:19

55:01

57:28

1:10:36

1:08:39

51:47

553

1320

1994

46:06

49:41

52:30

54:39

57:13

1:10:09

1:09:34

51:10

498

1250

1995

44:03

50:39

53:04

54:55

58:07

1:09:32

1:11:00

50:27

514

1361

1996

48:19

51:40

53:49

55:27

58:29

1:09:41

1:10:53

51:17

529

1312

1997

44:27

49:23

51:59

53:42

56:47

1:06:48

1:08:38

59:57

596

1455

1998

47:59

51:01

54:18

56:01

59:26

1:11:50

1:12:23

55:48

528

1368

1999

42:51

50:26

53:56

55:05

58:42

1:09:18

1:09:30

53:59

588

1478

2000

43:59

50:22

53:46

55:03

58:03

1:09:47

1:12:19

53:32

552

1342

2001

46:25

50:23

52:58

54:24

58:02

1:08:27

1:10:53

53:09

583

1425

2002

45:14

51:38

54:08

56:00

58:56

1:09:00

1:08:31

52:26

605

1412

2003

42:36

50:23

52:37

54:21

56:57

1:07:54

1:11:16

55:25

544

1324

2004

46:23

50:06

53:49

55:14

57:45

1:09:38

1:10:14

51:42

596

1360

2005

46:44

51:17

55:01

55:34

57:43

1:09:31

1:10:19

51:49

576

1335

2006

47:03

50:17

54:00

55:36

58:47

1:09:10

1:11:14

50:56

558

1382

2007

47:05

51:59

54:43

56:17

59:36

1:10:26

1:13:04

54:58

594

1395

Avg.

45:13

50:27

53:10

54:42

57:48

1:09:17

1:10:54

51:56

552

1297

Table submitted by Bernie Hollander

Target times for Dipsea Milestones based on Russ Kiernan's time over the
course. (Where you should be and when you should be there.)

A

B

C

D

E

2:20

2:35

2:50

3:00

3:30

First Step

6:20

6:45

7:15

7:40

8:30

Top of steps

9:00

9:40

10:20

10:55

12:15

One Mile - Flying Y Ranch, 100 yards before asphalt
on Bayview

12:00

12:50

13:35

14:15

16:30

Bottom of Hauke Hollow at the paved road to Muir
Woods

16:00

17:05

18:00

18:45

22:00

Redwood Creek in Muir Woods

26:30

28:20

29:50

31:20

35:10

Half-way Rock (Limestone rock to left of trail under
phone wires on Hogsback)